Design and Construction Error Mitigation in Infrastructure Projects. Human errors committed during the design and construction process of infrastructure projects increase costs by as much as 25 per cent. The costs associated with such errors would be significantly higher in the event of an engineering failure and loss of life. This research will develop a model that can be used to mitigate errors and improve the performance and safety of infrastructure projects. A reduction in errors will reduce ....Design and Construction Error Mitigation in Infrastructure Projects. Human errors committed during the design and construction process of infrastructure projects increase costs by as much as 25 per cent. The costs associated with such errors would be significantly higher in the event of an engineering failure and loss of life. This research will develop a model that can be used to mitigate errors and improve the performance and safety of infrastructure projects. A reduction in errors will reduce the financial burden placed on taxpayers for cost overruns experienced as well as improve the profitability of organisations. This will lead to greater investment, and contribution to gross domestic product.Read moreRead less
Risk and Reliability in Stochastic Optimisation and Equilibrium. This project seeks to develop theory and methodology in optimisation which take advantage of recent progress in understanding and treating risk in decision making. Problems of optimisation in the face of uncertainty must confront the risk inherent in having to make reliable decisions before knowing the outcomes of crucial random variables on which costs and constraints may depend. Recent theoretical developments, featuring ‘measure ....Risk and Reliability in Stochastic Optimisation and Equilibrium. This project seeks to develop theory and methodology in optimisation which take advantage of recent progress in understanding and treating risk in decision making. Problems of optimisation in the face of uncertainty must confront the risk inherent in having to make reliable decisions before knowing the outcomes of crucial random variables on which costs and constraints may depend. Recent theoretical developments, featuring ‘measures of risk’ beyond just-expected values and quantiles offer hope of major new advances. This project aims to achieve such advances not only in optimisation but also in models of equilibrium that likewise have to deal with uncertainty. Extending current theory and methodology to such multi-stage stochastic models is a challenge. Besides taking up this challenge for its own sake, a major goal of this research will be to use the results in solution algorithms.Read moreRead less
Optimal control of nonlinear delay systems: theory, algorithms, and applications. Time delays are present in many engineering systems, including robots, irrigation canals, and chemical reactors. This project aims to develop state-of-the-art techniques for controlling systems with time delays in an optimal manner.
Effective computational methods for nonlinear cone optimisation with industrial applications. This project brings together a number of national and international researchers whose combined expertise will focus on solving optimisation problems arising in a range of industries. The work will result in new cutting edge optimisation technology that can benefit industry and the community.
HYBRID METHODS FOR SOLVING LARGE-SCALE OPTIMISATION PROBLEMS. Mathematical modelling and optimisation plays a crucial role in the advancement of modern business, science and technology. A significant benefit of this project is the development of a range of powerful computational tools for improving the productivity of Australian industry, including: agriculture; communications; defence; manufacturing; mining and petroleum; transport and logistics. These tools will be built upon advances in the f ....HYBRID METHODS FOR SOLVING LARGE-SCALE OPTIMISATION PROBLEMS. Mathematical modelling and optimisation plays a crucial role in the advancement of modern business, science and technology. A significant benefit of this project is the development of a range of powerful computational tools for improving the productivity of Australian industry, including: agriculture; communications; defence; manufacturing; mining and petroleum; transport and logistics. These tools will be built upon advances in the fundamental theory developed by the research team. The resulting high quality publications and associated algorithms will greatly enhance Australia's international scientific reputation and provide Australian industry with new cutting-edge optimisation technology.Read moreRead less
Forensic management approach to rework mitigation and prevention in construction. Rework is the unnecessary effort of re-doing a process or activity. The direct costs of rework in construction have been reported to be as high as 25% of project costs. These rework costs would be higher if they included the intangible, but real costs of disruption caused by schedule delays, litigation, and dysfunctional contract relationships. To reduce rework in construction projects a forensic project managem ....Forensic management approach to rework mitigation and prevention in construction. Rework is the unnecessary effort of re-doing a process or activity. The direct costs of rework in construction have been reported to be as high as 25% of project costs. These rework costs would be higher if they included the intangible, but real costs of disruption caused by schedule delays, litigation, and dysfunctional contract relationships. To reduce rework in construction projects a forensic project management model that can be used to stimulate learning and process improvement will be developed, evaluated and validated. This will enable the design of strategies to reduce rework and improve the overall performance of projects.Read moreRead less
Robust methods for hard optimization problems. Highly advanced industrial and information-based societies depend on complex systems that underpin their infrastructure and technologies. Mathematical modelling and optimization techniques are most frequently deployed for the development and refinement of these systems. This project focuses on an important class of difficult optimization problems that arise in many applications. A significant benefit of this project is the development of a number of ....Robust methods for hard optimization problems. Highly advanced industrial and information-based societies depend on complex systems that underpin their infrastructure and technologies. Mathematical modelling and optimization techniques are most frequently deployed for the development and refinement of these systems. This project focuses on an important class of difficult optimization problems that arise in many applications. A significant benefit of this project is the development of a number of robust methods for these hard optimization problems. These methods will be built upon advances in the fundamental theory developed by the research team. The resulting high quality publications and associated algorithms will greatly enhance Australia's international scientific reputation.Read moreRead less
Designing an Intelligent Process Operation Management System. The complexity and sophistication of current generation of industrial processes, and the growing need for autonomous agents that control physical systems, motivate the need for the development of an intelligent process operation management system. In this project, the innovative integration of theories from different scientific fields (computer systems, process engineering, systems and control engineering) provides an excellent platfo ....Designing an Intelligent Process Operation Management System. The complexity and sophistication of current generation of industrial processes, and the growing need for autonomous agents that control physical systems, motivate the need for the development of an intelligent process operation management system. In this project, the innovative integration of theories from different scientific fields (computer systems, process engineering, systems and control engineering) provides an excellent platform for development of a smart data management tool, to oversee the major operational tasks within the plant and help the operators and engineers to make more informed decisions. Direct application of the techniques developed in this study to a pilot case study, could be used as a benchmark to show the potential benefits that can be gained through smart information use and data management.Read moreRead less
Improving risk management based on short-term stochastic forecast for financial decisions. The project targets the problems of strategy selection in the framework of mathematical finance. The aim is to find ways to reduce the impact of forecast errors in the presence of uncertainty. Related forecasting algorithms and solutions of optimization problems will be obtained.